Clouds and Puppies
by Kitsunefan203
Summary: When they both left home, they never dreamt of ever running into one another. When the blond cloud meet with the raven haired puppy, who knew they would come together in such a way...ZackCloud
1. Chapter 1

"Well if it isn't the little boy with a name like the, what are they up there?" the ringleader's face was caked in mud with here and there makeshift band aid's on his chin and nose; he was egging on his rag tag little gang to gang up on the mop headed little blond, "Any ideas guys?"

There were here and there chuckles and sneers at the boy, "I think they call it the sky, Daniel…"

"No, its cotton balls…"

"You're both wrong," the ringleader rolled his eyes at the two others around him, "They're clouds, isn't that right…Cloud?"

Still there was silence from the blond mop head with hair that seemed to defy gravity which was always a source of teasing and name calling but no matter how many people, mainly the kids of the small mountain town of Niblehiem, teased him; he managed to brush it off, but it only served to egg them on. Ever since he had been born, there was no real last name to tack to his name, and his name was a little unorthodox, when he was born, the Doctor had asked if there was a name for the child, but his mother, Teresa had not thought that far. She had only thought as far as to exist without finding herself ending up dragged off and left in a ditch by an over jealous woman in the town who had a reason to think that Teresa could be a home wrecker and deserved to be put out of existence in the small mountain town. Some women had gone as far as to start wrongful rumors as well make comments meant towards her general direction whenever she walked by, but she never let it get to her and even when she had her son; she had avoided giving out a name just yet.

_His name has to be something special…something that will mean something…when the time is right…a name will come up that works for him_

"Cloud, Cloud…Cloud Hawthorne Strife, do I have to keep calling you or are you going to sit there like a bump on a log?" with a soft smile and a warm voice, the boy's face turned away from the ringleader as he made his way in a hurried stride towards the warm face and voice, "Come on you, let's get you home before you cause anymore strife to anyone."

Strife, that's where his last name had come from, but it had been an overcast cloudy day one Spring day after the young boy had been born that he had gained the name, Cloud, Strife had come from the continuous strife he had given his Mother ever since he had been born. It seemed anytime he would come home running, covered in mud or other various forest like items, it would seem it would only serve to cause strife to Teresa to have to clean up the mess brought in by him. No real record of a Father figure was apparent in the home and that had been the base of all the rumors that would pop up just on the fly because the villagers were bored and need something to talk about to make the days go by faster.

"So tell me, what was it this time? What was Daniel starting this time? Was it your hair, your height, or was it…" Teresa stopped momentarily as she knelt down in front of her young son, admiring the soft sky baby blue eyes sitting in that soft face of his, that soft youthful, baby face, face, and "…about these charming and soulful blue eyes of yours…the one thing that is the best part of you aside from this charming hair of yours."

As her fingers ran through his soft blonde spikes the boy pulled away, "Momma, stop…" his hand moved her hand away from his hair, but it found itself curled up in his Mother's hand as he wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his face in the crook of her neck, "…Make the teasing stop…I wanna know who Daddy is…"

"…Cloud…you and I both know that I don't know tha---" the feeling of her son's face feeling cold against her neck stopped her midsentence, "…Oh sweetie, please…please don't do this…"

There was no stopping the boy when he started crying; he had endured enough growing up from the local kids poking fun at him that he didn't have a Dad or didn't know who his Dad was, he was considered the son of a town whore, or so that was the title that had been branded on Teresa for not telling anyone who the man was that was responsible for the boy. Teresa had long, jet black raven hair, but her son had blond hair, how was it even possible? A majority of the men in the town were brunet or jet black raven hair much like her; it wasn't possible for the boy to have blond hair if the boy's father was to be of either of those colors of hair; there had to be a man that she had been with that was not of this Village. Many of the kids had poked fun at the boy for the fact that he had blond hair that defied gravity as it seemed to be, some of the kids had gone as far as to attempt to stick baby chicks to even baby finches in his hair. Joking that his head was to be a new nest for the babies since their Mommies had flown away and forgotten about them or had abandoned the old nest and they need a new place to stay and his hair was just the thing for them.

There was a few soft sniffles from the boy as Teresa pulled him away to look at him, "Cloud, sweetie…look at me," the boy's soft baby blue eyes were floating in the last few tears that were rolling down his soft face, there was a few dribbles of snot coming from his sniffling nose, but that could be overlooked, "When the time is right…I'll tell you…okay?"

"You promise?" a few more sniffles, "You really promise, Mommy?"

What Mother couldn't resist the sight of their child, "I promise," Teresa pulled Cloud in tight against her, softly chuckling; "I promise you with all of my heart."

The years passed on like they were nothing but pages on a calendar as the once scraggly, scrawny country boy with the gravity defying blond hair had grown into a built enough for his own figure man; it was a mystery as to why none of the girls in the small Mountain town weren't flocking to his door. Even if they weren't knocking or even, as his Mom had put it, "clawing at the door in hopes of catching a glimpse of what I've got to see everyday"; it didn't seem like that big a deal, but in a way, it was always being rubbed into his face that he was the only one in the town of the age of at least fourteen, fifteen at best, without a girl on his arm. What did it matter to him? Studying and making the grade to get the chance to leave this town was the only thing on his mind where as the others his age were more into finding a right moment to pull their girlfriends off to a corner of town and do what was considered a right thing to do in their relationship. Cloud had other things on his mind; he had wanted to find out who his Dad was and only recently his Mom had let him know who his Father was and what kind of man he had been. The man that was his Father had been a member of the ShinRa Military Ranks, not a SOLDIER per say, but he was in some way, a man of rank, and very well respected; he had even been called on now and again for advice by the then President of ShinRa Electric for many important decisions.

"_The day I met your Father, he was just like you, a little timid to be amongst Mountain folk since he had never really left the town of Midgar," Teresa softly chuckled, "He was like a little boy trying to find the bathroom in a strange house."_

Cloud had remembered the first he had stayed over at a first friend's house; they had had so much to drink during the night at dinner that during the middle of the night it had come back to bite him in the butt and it was biting hard especially when he tried to find his way to his friend's bathroom. That had been a rather odd misadventure that nearly ended in a bad way.

"_He even found himself wandering into a Chocobo pen and the sounds of all that 'warking' and the man screaming; it was hard to distinguish the birds from the man," Teresa started laughing hard, "It was rather funny to see, but eventually, he was able to be pulled out of the pen of birds and I kid you not; he looked like one of them, they even started calling out to him in some kind of mournful calls as he was being helped out of the barn."_

Teresa had continued the story about how over the next few months to nearly a year that he was stationed in the small Mountain town; they had dated and then, "Well, I know the end of that story…" Cloud softly remarked to himself as he saw his Mom preparing to finish up her story.

"But, there is one thing I don't understand…Why didn't you guys ever get married?"

There came the dejected sigh, "…He wanted to, and we had planned to, but he had gotten an emergency summons to return back to Midgar; it seemed that the people of Wutai had decided to attack a well known side of Midgar territory and he was called back to help put the enemy in their place."

"…Did…Did he ever come back at least once?" Cloud grew anxious and slightly nervous and afraid of what his Mom would tell him, "Or at least leave his name?"

She softly shook her head to both questions.

"No. At best, all I had was a photo of us, but even at best…that may not help you," she handed over an old worn out picture she had been holding onto in her makeshift wallet, "But it should help you a little…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A couple more months passed and Cloud was only six months short of his sixteenth birthday, but the desire to try and join ShinRa's rank of SOLDIER in hopes of finding out more about his Father was greater then anything else. It was hard making the decision, but even harder telling his Mother the news that he was planning to leave their quaint little Mountain town to travel into the big city of sights and sounds of Midgar to pursue the rank of SOLDIER. For as long as Cloud had known, he had known his Mother's secret; even when she thought her son hadn't seen her, he had seen her, seen her crying alone in her room, petting at the small framed photograph of the only thing she had to remember the man she had only known. Soft tears would roll down her face anytime he saw her when she didn't think he saw her crying, but her words…they were different.

A couple of days ago, he had seen it, "…Our little boy is growing up…wants to be just like you," her tone was a mix of warbled sadness that her little boy was leaving home and slight distaste for it, "Going to have another little SOLDIER in my life. Let's hope he doesn't leave me like you did…in like the wind, and then…you're back off to war…"

"Not a single letter…not a call…about the only thing I got was a notice from the damn ShinRa dogs that you were gone. Gone by some Wuttain's blade…you the oh so strong, powerful SOLDIER," then came the crash; she had thrown the picture frame at the wall as it broke onto the floor, "…You son of a bitch. You promised me you'd come back…and make an honest woman of me…"

Cloud had limited friends in the small town, the only real friend he had was a young woman with raven hair that reached down to about the middle of her back, skin as soft and pale as the New Moon that would rise over the mountains after the first Season's rain. She was the only one that seemed to have any friendly interest in the Country boy, but lately; it seemed to be a little more and it was showing its way into the scenery in the way she acted around him at a local little pub in the middle of the town. Everyone in the pub, underage and legal aged were getting drunk, and he had half suspected that to be the reason why the only friend he had in his life, sitting beside him; was tracing her hand up against his calf and thigh.

"You're going to be gone for a long time…run into a lot of free and easy young women out there in that big city, possibly a guy or two, because," she was drunk; it was on her breath and her demeanor, especially how she play with his face, "Who could resist this little face or even this…?"

Cloud's face turned a soft shade of crimson as one hand slapped against his seated posterior and her other hand, without dignity, reached between his legs, "You've got the build and equipment of an at least eighteen year old guy or possibly," she continued to touch Cloud even though he was doing all he could to make her stop; luckily no one was watching them, they were all too drunk to distinguish that it was something wrong and not some woman trying to cop a feel before getting the man off in to bed with her, "….Ha, ha, ha, you're going to have lots of people banging at your door, or maybe the other way around."

She broke off into a drunken stupor laughter as she fell off the stool, legs flailing into the air, brushing her skirt up as she laughed loudly and long in her drunken stupor, "You better get that little missy home and into bed before she does something she'll regret," the crusty old bartender behind the bar had lived in the Mountains too long and knew most of the patrons, "Or before her Daddy wonders why you weren't taking care of, Mr. Strife."

A man was helping her up off the floor, but the man was brushed off as Cloud reached for his friend, but the man was back at her again; all the while the young woman was laughing in her drunken stupor. The man's breath was laced in hard liquor and cigar smoke, it was nauseous and it was making Cloud's head spin.

"Hey buddy, let the little lady go, if she wants to go with me, then let her go, I'll take good care of her and get her home for ya," one too man drinks had been put down the man's throat, but the woman on his arm, Cloud's friend, was still a laughing hyena.

"Yeah, come on Cloudy, let him take me home…I'll be fine," she worked to give the man a sloppy, drunken kiss but she ended laughing instead of kissing him, but her laughter broke out louder when she felt the man grope her, "Hey, hey, hey, not here…not here…"

She was drunk and wasn't thinking right as she whispered into the man's ear, drunk, "…Wait till we are in the bedroom for you to do that…" her words broke off into a string of drunken laughter.

"See? The little lady is fine, now," the man muscled his way past Cloud now; his hand still firmly attached to the woman's backside, "Excuse us, we've got some ground to cover so I can get her home."

Cloud couldn't let it go, "Excuse me, sir, but that young lady is at least 14, if you try and do anything to her, you'll be in trouble…" he reached for the girl and pulled her away, "Come on, Tifa, I'm taking you home."

The young woman didn't care who took her home anymore, "Okay, okay, I'll go home with you Cloud, just…just make the room stop spinning."

"Hey little man," the man reached for Tifa again, "Just back off, okay, I won't bring any harm to the little lady; she wants to go home with me, now, let go!"

Moments flew into a flurry as Cloud struck the man upside the jaw, but the man was built with a heavier frame as he plowed Cloud in the jaw, sending the young teen into the bar. A bar maid came from her rounds once she saw the fight as she pulled Tifa aside from the fight, and several other man tackled the heavyset man; it didn't take long for him to go down and the fight was over in moments, but Cloud was a little less for wear. Nothing in the room seemed to sit well in the way that his eyes spun around in his head; there was no way he was going home in the shape he was in, his Mother would have his hide for what had happened; the bar maid who had pulled Tifa aside walked Tifa home. Cloud ended up passing out in the storage room of the bar because the moment he tried to walk towards any assistance with the Bartender; he had stumbled over his feet and passed out.

A soft voice seemed to speaking over him while two other voices were being heard, but they were hard to make, "Glad to see you coming around," it was the bartender, who was also the owner's wife's voice, "You took one nasty spill, but don't worry…your little girly friend got home safe and sound. But I can bet you that Mr. Lockhart isn't going to be happy with that little missy once she wakes up tomorrow with a nasty hangover."

"Wha…What happened to me?" Cloud groaned as he tried to sit up, but the room was spinning again and it came with the feeling of nausea as he lay back down, "…Ow, my head…"

"Gerald, you can bring her back; he's starting to come around, but he's looking a little green," the woman called out to the two conversing individual's, but Cloud could make out the face of his Mother through the half slit eyes he gave from the head pain throbbing in his head, "I'll leave you two alone with him…I hope you feel better, Cloud."

Cloud croaked a soft reply, "Thanks, Mrs. Swanson…"

"You sure took a shiner from that oversized Gorilla, Cloud…"the bartender touched at Cloud's forming black eye but a soft whimper came from him at the touch, "Best that you keep some ice on that eye of yours, let the swelling go down. But you also took a good sized knock to the noggin when you got knocked out; it's a miracle by the Goddess that you didn't impale your head on the corner of the counter."

Teresa was just happy to know her son hadn't been drinking and was willing to lay his life down for a friend, a girl at that much, "Heh, I bet you anything, that overzealous Marcus Lockhart is going to have an ear full to say to me about how my son didn't stop his daughter from getting drunk and almost got up in a fight. I'll never hear the end of it."

"Oh, get over it, Teresa, that Marcus is a blow hard; he's just worried about his only daughter getting into trouble," Gerald scoffed as he helped Cloud to his feet, "Come on, I'll walk you and your brave son back home."

"Thank you, Gerald…"

After a few days of rest at home, Cloud was ready and able to leave for Midgar, even if Teresa seemed hesitant about allowing her only son leave, especially after the mild scuffle in the bar a few nights before. Word had spread through the small little town that Cloud had taken on one of the biggest guys in town and had in his own way, taken him down or so the rumors had flown to be; there was also word that the big oversized Gorilla he had taken down was looking for revenge for ruining his chances with an alcohol buzzed underage girl. It was the last thing Cloud needed on his mind before leaving for the big city where the only problem he was going to have among the many others swimming about in his subconscious was the problem of making sure that he didn't screw up his chances of making his way, at least into the starting ranks of SOLDIER in order to gain some knowledge as to who his Father had been. Once you were that high in rank, the possibilities of things you could find out were endless, but they were also deadly; some people had been done away with in secrecy by ShinRa for finding out too much. That was always on Cloud's mind, but it weighed heavier on Teresa's mind.

"Mom, Mom, Mom, come on stop it…you're embarrassing me," Cloud tried to pull away from his Mom's constant mothering as she made sure everything was right and perfect, "Mom, seriously…there are other guys watching and I'd rather not go off to Boot Camp with the guys already labeling me a 'Momma's Boy'."

Teresa stopped as she wrapped her arms around her son's neck, burying her face into the crook of it, "Mom? You okay?"

"…I'm fine, Cloud, I'll be fine," but she wasn't going to be fine; her son was leaving home, it was hard for any Mother to let their child go off on their own, "Just promise me you'll call me once you reach the big city, alright?"

Cloud felt like he would cry because he knew that's what she was doing, but she was a doing a better job at hiding it; he wanted to go but at the same time, he didn't want to go. He had never left home before except for going off to school, but this was different; he wouldn't be back home right after school with new stories of how he could shoved into a locker or how the boy's made fun of the fact he had his name written on his underwear. No, he was going away, and wasn't coming back for a long time and it would be many months and hard work till he was given the chance to go home on leave for the Holidays to see his Mom. It would be hard, but in it all, it would be worth it.

"I promise, momma…" Cloud fought back tears as well as the sob that choked in his throat as he tightened his grip around her form, "I really, really, promise…"

Teresa let her tears flow even heavier as the bus pulled up and she saw the other boys, that had to be at least a year or more older then her son, filing onto the bus that would take them to the train station and then that train would take them away into a world of being adults. There was no need for goodbyes from the other boys as their parents, mainly their Fathers watched on as their son's bored the bus, none of their Mother's were present out of the sheer feeling that they wouldn't be able to hold back the tears of seeing their son leave home. It was embarrassing enough to have to hear how proud their parents were but to have it drag on to delay them leaving was driving a few of the teens a little crazy.

"Come on, Ma, I'll be back by Christmas, I promise," Cloud heard one of the teens, about a year older then him trying to pry his tearful Mother off of him, "Come on Ma, you're embarrassing me in front of the others."

"Get use to it, Victor, you're going to have more then just your Momma hanging all over you once we're big in Midgar," Daniel was of course, running his mouth like usual, but the sight of his girlfriend, Gloria, glaring at him was what stopped him in his tracks, "Don't worry, baby, I won't even bother to look any of the other girls in Midgar, you're all I need and I'll call whenever I'm free, and believe me…I'll be looking forward to being home on leave, especially when I've got a lovely creature like you back here."

Gloria pouted, "You promise or are you just running your mouth?"

Daniel pulled her in close as he lip locked her so hard that she would need more then chap stick as he pulled away, "I truly promise…besides, your Dad loves me and wouldn't have me any other way to come back here to marry you," he looked off into his own dreamy kind of stare, skywards, "…Once I've gained some rank to give you the life you deserve."

"Oh Daniel!"

Yep, he truly was a ladies' man who knew how to sweet talk any young, pretty thing into believing anything that came out of that mouth of his, "I guess you're leaving…Cloud?"

Cloud turned around to give attention to the voice talking to him, "…Yeah, I guess…I'll see you when I have time of---" he was cut off as his friend from that night, Tifa Lockhart, threw her arms around his neck.

"Come back safe…and in one piece, please…"Tifa softly placed a peck on the teen's cheek as she let him go as Cloud filed onto the bus, finding a seat towards the back of the bus as he watched his Mother and his childhood friend disappearing off in a cloud of dust.

_Goodbye…Mom…_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Zackary Nathanial FAIR!" it was the typical battle cry of a Mother worn to her wits end due to having a son that found joy in nearly terrorizing his Mother into a panicked frenzy or even a frazzled mess, "Where in the name of Shiva are you?!"

A toothy grin peeked out from the brambles of the nearby bushes as a low, soft chuckle came out from a little boy about to be in trouble whenever his Mother found him, but the bouncing raven haired spikes was about to become a dead give away. Zackary, or as he was known as by his friends, Zack, was truly a typical young boy, but, his typical young boy antics were about to cost him as the sound of his yelping of being pulled up out of the brambles by the collar of his shirt gave him away. His yelp was unique, it sounded like a little puppy being picked up or even being caught doing something bad on the carpet, which had earned him the nickname, "Puppy" among his friends.

Even the way he looked up at someone when he found he was in trouble, "Zack, what did you do this time to have your Mother close to pulling her hair out?"

…It resembled the look of a puppy of looking for sympathy, "I didn't do much, I just rearranged the spice rack and a few here and there knick knacks…and maybe drew on the Vanity mirror with her make up?"

"Heh, Zackary, what are your Mother and I to do with you?"

The little boy softly shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, there just isn't anything to do here at home…I get bored," then came the soft pout of a child looking for some form remorse or at least some idea of what to do so as to get out of the situation he had gotten himself into.

Zackary Nathaniel Fair, born troublemaker and only child of Karen and Arthur Fair, not much was known of the standing that they held in the small town of Gongaga; Gongaga was simple yet another small mountain town or remote village, depending on what Region of Gongaga you went into, but one thing was certain, it was known for having a Mako Reactor which meant to the locals; nothing much else out there. Like many of other mountainous villages and towns, it had its Elites and its upper, middle and lower classes, working classes, and those just scrapping by to even still remotely exist in the small mountain town. Census of the number of children in the town was that there wasn't many children which made making friends a bit of a challenge and the reason why the majority of children that did exist in the small town draw towards causing trouble not only for their parents, but also for the others in the village. Sure there were there things to do, but…

"Zackary Nathaniel Fair, look what you have done this time," Karen pointed out all the things her son had touched and in her words, "utterly destroyed", "Why did you do this?"

"I'm sorry, Momma…I just wanted to draw and there wasn't any paper…so…" those big blue eyes looked up with a look of remorse that only a Mother could love, "…I'm sorry Momma, I really am, please don't punish me…"

Looking into those soft blue eyes that if they were any more puppy like; he would've been whimpering and whining like one too and what Mother couldn't resist a tearful child.

And it was just that, she couldn't stay mad at the boy as she gathered him into her arms, "Heh…Zackary, my son, sometimes, I can't stand staying mad at you."

It was true.

Nothing could make her stay mad at him, or was there?

Or was there at least one thing that could place him in a bad position with his Mother; it was a sore subject that had been hidden away for a number of years until the appropriate time. Only recently had fliers promoting SOLDIER or even ranks of joining the many ranks of Cadets and other specialized Units of ShinRa and it had become a hot topic among the young teens of the small town, many were eager to sign up, Zack was among them, but when he got home to tell his Mother the news; it didn't go down as well as he had hoped. His Father had been thrilled in ways that his son was following in his old man's footsteps, but his Mother was not as thrilled and she had voiced her opinion, loudly and clearly and numerous times over. Even the neighbors had begun to, in their own ways, start taking bets as to who would win the fight this time to what was going to happen to the upstart teen this time, but each time they fought; Zack would end up walking out of the house and disappearing for days on end which meant there was no self proclaimed winner this time or any time at that. He was at least sixteen, seventeen at best, why did her opinions or feelings matter in whatever decision he made with his life that finally earned him some gratitude, even a nod of appreciation from his Dad?

It had been too long since he had heard a kind word from his Dad, when the call for young teens about his age or even about a year younger started; it was then his Mother had started her cries over how no Son of hers was going to be joining any army made up of the Dogs of ShinRa. Her words had always rung hard in his ears each time he gulped down another shot of cheap wannabe hard liquor at the local pub where most of the other guys his age hung out. His Father, on the other hand, had had a different opinion about his Son joining the ShinRa Military; he had said that it might do him some good and make a man out of him, and then he would run off on another one of his old war time tales of when he use to be in a form of the Military set up by ShinRa back in its day before it had changed hands to the ShinRa brat that was running it now. That only did to start his wife off and running her mouth again about her hate for ShinRa and all they stood for, she had never trusted them especially ever since the Mako reactor out on the far side of the town, where no one was assumed to be able to find the reactor.

"Ma, come on, just give it a chance," Zack tried to avoid another dish to the head by his Mom, this was hopefully going to be the last time he had to avoid a dish to the head for trying to sell his Mom on the SOLDIER thing with ShinRa, "I'll make sure to call you when I get a chance, and I'll try and make it home on the Holidays."

He waited for a dish to be hurled his way, but when there came none, just the friendly, warm, inviting embrace of his Mother's arms and her voice, "…Just come back home safe, you hear me Zackary Fair? I don't want to have to bury my only child…"

Zack wrapped his arms around his Mother's shoulders lovingly, unaware that his Father was watching from not too far away, "Thanks Ma…"

Fine last words that couldn't have been uttered any differently and they were the same last ones he would utter as the bus pulled away with a lurch to drive him off to Midgar. A place where things were going to change for him, fate was bringing two young men hoping to make something of them selves to a place that was known for destroying, tearing down, and shaping young men into almost weapons for ShinRa to use for their own sick reasons. One with blonde hair that jutted out in every direction that seemed to defy the very gravity meant to keep it down as soft sky baby blue eyes looked out to the sky as the night sky of Midgar appeared and replaced the twinkling stars with the sights and sounds of a busy, run down, probably into doing illegal things but the bright lights seemed to hide that fact from the quizzical young Mountain teen as the bus continued its trek into the underground parking structure of the ShinRa Cadet Compound.

"Welcome to ShinRa's SOLDIER Cadet Program, maggots, from here on out, I'm going to be the one you answer to, is that understood?" the Commander gave no room for anyone to get smart with him, all that was heard was an unanimous…

"SIR YES SIR!"

The same sight awaited the Gongaga teen, but that was a trek that wouldn't be arriving for another week or so, for now, the blonde teen, Cloud Strife set about getting all he needed and gathering up the issued clothing assigned to him among going through a complete physical that seemed a little more invasive then necessary. But once things were squared away, the teens were escorted off to their own bunks where they would be staying with roommates.

"Good night ladies, in the morning, we start drills, first thing," the door shut and lights were to be out that night as well.

_Man…I never thought it would be like this…No looking back now…_

The sounds of cheers and war hoops came from the front of the bus, but they were especially loud from the heavy set looking kid sitting next to Zack who had just hours ago drifted off to sleep and was having a nice dream of a hot bath with an equally as hot young woman bathing him, but now, that was spoiled by the snorting grunts of a happy go lucky heavy set contender that at best wouldn't make it past the first week of actual physical training. It was at least enough to ruin his night as Zack shoved the guy gently as the sight of the lights of Midgar started to come into view through the front window of the bus as all the other small town country boys fought to push their faces against the glass to catch a glimmering glimpse of the big city. Their breaths were covering and fogging up the windows which looked rather silly and humorous to the locals who saw the sight of a bus load of young hopefuls for ShinRa's SOLDIER Cadet Program coming into their town.

"Man, oh man, isn't this place awesome looking?" Zack's seat companion huffed out through wheezing breaths as he almost seemed to make the seat bounce even if he wasn't even moving that much.

Zack softly nodded as he attempted to get back to sleep, "Yeah, yeah, it's like every city out there…it's no different."

"Tch, whatever man, your loss that you're missing out on the cuties out this late at night," the hefty passenger shifted back in his seat as he tried to catch a glimpse of the sights around the city but that was short lived when the bus pulled into the Compound for the Cadets with a groan of upset that they were having their sightseeing cut short.

"Get over it ladies, you'll get a chance to see it another time, if you can make it out of this place without ending up on the end of a coffin," the Commander walked onto the bus; not once showing any remorse, "Many guys like you scum have come through here and some haven't passed like some of the lucky ones. Now, GET OFF OF MY BUS AND INTO THAT COMPOUND! TIME THAT YOU MISERABLE MAGGOTS GOT PROCESSED AND ROOMED FOR THE NIGHT, BECAUSE IN THE MORNING, HELL IS GONNA RAIN DOWN YOUR LITTLE HEADS LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!"

_It had begun. No going back. No regrets. It was time to make the long haul in this…_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the ownership of Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura.

AN: ^^; Sorry about the lack of updating on this among several others I've pumped out to test the waters to see if I can interest in any different kinds of works, but they are kind of in a kind of...limbo...in regards to inspiration or drive to work them. I recently got a PM from someone, but it wasn't signed with any kind of Screenname or something but it asked if I would write/post more and so, on behalf of that person, whoever you are, this is for you ^.^

Just a little note here...um, in no way, am I trying to make the Character Elmer you'll meet that is Zack's bunkmate, in way, shape or form, am I attempting to make his personality like that of the character Cam out of Sephcounttheways' fanfic "Blonde Ambition"...the dialouge between Elmer and Zack is just something that ran into my head...and possibly affected from reading Blond Ambition ^^;;;;; Either way! In no way, shape or form, am I attempting to gross you guys out by having him ask Zack about whether or not the Mako Reactor affects his Male parts...^^;;;;;; Its meant as a joke. Pure. And. Simple. Any flames in regards to it...I will take them in to consideration and consider changing the dialogue so as to offend anyone.

Sidenote: I'm kind of 50/50 working on an Original Story...If you're at all interested in reading what has been written so far, send me a PM to my email address that can be found on my Profile and I'll more then happily send you what I have so far. Thank you and enjoy.

Chapter 4

The first night away is always the hardest night of them all when young men go away to something as venturous as Boot Camp, those that have been coddled more then others might find it harder to sleep through the first night. Cloud was trying to push that feeling out of his head, but the scent of his Mom was on everything he had brought with him to Boot Camp, even the little raggedy little stuffed animal he had snuck with him into his jacket as he laid snuggled down into his bed. It was hard to not cry in the midst of the darkness of the four person bunker dorm room, but it was okay to do it, he wasn't the only homesick. A young man that had to be about Cloud's age or a little older was silently sobbing to himself like a homesick little boy had gone to off Camp without Mommy to hold his hand along the way, some of the others in the room had sent spiteful words towards him to just shut up, buck up and go to sleep but Cloud sympathized with him. But he couldn't tear up or cry, this was the Military, you didn't do that, but all he could do was sit up in his bunker bed and pull out pen and paper that he had managed to find in the drawers of the dresser next to the bunk bed set up next to his bunker. With what little light there was left, especially from the Moon; he decided the only way he was going to be able to sleep with breaking into tears in his sleep was to write to his Mother.

_Hey Ma,_

_I've made it to Boot Camp safe and sound, or as safe as I can be aside from the way the instructor's yell at us which is expected since we are as they put it, "worthless little maggots that will be shaped into lean mean fighting machines" kind of funny, isn't it? I haven't had a chance to real to get to know my bunkmates yet since we are all kind of tired from having to run off the bus, run to the Processing Line, get loaded down in our gear, then be shoved off to our rooms. Tomorrow, we are suppose to have Orientation which some are saying is boring, it's mostly made up of the head honcho's blowing hot air up our…well, you get what they're doing. From what I can make out of the guys I'm sharing a four man room with, I'm probably the only blond with gravity defying hair as well as probably the only Cadet from Niblehiem. _

_Well, lights out was about fifteen minutes ago and they expect us to be asleep already, so, I'm kind of risking my first steps into this program and becoming a SOLDIER to find out who my Father was by staying up and writing this by moonlight…_

_I know what you would say, "Get some sleep or else you'll never succeed", so, I'm going to take my own ideas and stop writing this, say goodnight and go to sleep; the first morning bell is at 5:30 and we have from there till almost 6:30 to eat breakfast and get to our first Class. So…good night, Ma…miss you._

_Your Loving Son,_

_Cloud Strife_

_P.S. I miss you…_

The letter was finished as Cloud folded it up and tucked it up into his pillowcase as he let his head fall on it, but not enough to wrinkle the letter or to wake up any of the guy's in his bunk; it wouldn't be a good first impression to make at this hour of the night. Heavily the eyes shut closed, but there was no point getting to sleep at this point; he was wide awake and there was no point in trying to sleep and as he lay there with his eyes open, thinking of the next morning.

"Why is that adrenaline stays with you so long…?"

"You're going to lose that adrenaline in a second if you don't shut up and try get to sleep!" one of the guys threw a pillow at Cloud which seemed to shut him up for the night as his mind finally found a way to fall asleep, dreaming of home, his Mom, but the dream he wanted most to come true was finding out who his Dad was.

Zack stood in the processing line as he yawned behind the one in front of him as the line moved as slow as could be; it was crazy how slow the line was and only because some guys were trying to debate out their rooming accommodations and it was driving the ones responsible for the Processing crazy. Some walked away grateful for what they got while some just walked away grumbling and complaining about how unfair all of it was to have to be stuck with someone they knew was going to snore since they had heard their now bunkmate snoring on the bus ride to the Compound. Once it was Zack's turn, he was grateful to just get a room to go and fall asleep in, the long ride out from Gongaga was not a fun one it could be said and everything ached. Luckily, their Commander wasn't one for berating them, just yet; he just wanted them off his Parade Grounds, off his bus and in his barracks before he had some reason to berate them before the due time. From all Zack could figure, maybe being part of ShinRa wasn't going to be all that bad. Unfortunately, it got worse, especially when Zack found out his snoring bus riding mate was one of the guys he would be sharing a bunk with, oh what joy that must've been even as the others watched on, snickering and giggling at the fact he got stuck with the guy.

"So, what's your name?" the young man snorted; it was apparent he had some breathing problems from his weight and it made him slightly heavy set and he tended to waddle when he walked, how he ever made through the scanning process was beyond anyone, "My name is Elmer, I hail from out of the kind of Western woodlands, can't really pinpoint you to whether its part of Gongaga or Niblehiem, but its home."

Zack didn't seem too put off as he extended a warm, welcoming, shaking hand as his face gave the young man a warm smile, "Fair, Zack Fair, I'm from Gongaga…"

Elmer seemed rather surprised to had met a backwater boy much like himself, "Well, glad to had met you, Zack, say, can I ask you a personal question?" the young man pulled Zack aside as to try and not draw the other guy's attention, "Have you noticed anything, odd…about the little man downstairs?"

"What are you getting at?" Zack couldn't tell if this guy was trying to play a game of, 'Find the Hotdog' or if the guy was serious about this, "Are you saying you're some kind of sick bastard that gets kicks off asking about other guy's equipment?"

"No, no, no, I'm just saying…you're from a backwater part of the World…and you guys have Mako Reactors back there and…well, did it effect the little guy?"

As odd a question as that was; it was hard to not say it might have, living out in such a place that housed a Mako reactor; it had now and again among some of the local men when he was younger they would sit around and talk about whether or not it was in the best decision of the Elites of the town to had allowed such a thing of ShinRa's into their little woodland town. Some of the men had even reported having problems "performing" after they had been stuck working around it for an extended period of time, but there hadn't been any problems in regards to size, if at all, the problem of whether or not it affected their "swimmers" was a question that was among them all. Zack even remembered getting a got swat on the bottom and a long talking to after he had come home and dared to even ask his Mom what the men meant about "swimmers" and "performing" among the other things the men had talked about. He never dared go near those gruff old men ever again out of fear of what his Mom had told him. She had told him, that if he even dared to go near the Mako Reactor that his, at the time of his child like language, that his "pee pee" would fall off and he would never be able to be considered a boy anymore and he would start becoming a girl.

To a little boy, that was taken seriously.

Zack nervously chuckled to his new bunkmate, "No, I can't say that has…Let's just say…I'm pretty sure "he's" still in working order."

"Well, how do you know?" Elmer waddled behind to alongside Zack as they hefted their rucksacks of their belongings along with them to their bunk.

"What do you mean how do I know?"

"Have you ever tried it out on anyone to make sure your guy isn't going to fail on you when the time calls for it and you've got some hot young thing panting out your name and you can't g---"Zack clasped his hands over his overweight new companion's mouth as he tried and hoped to Gaia that the night was hiding his embarrassed blush, "What?"

Zack nervously chuckled as he pushed Elmer into the room and Zack jumped up onto the top bunk, "…Let's just…not talk about our own personal…extracurricular life activities tonight, okay? We've all had a long bus ride, and I'm tired…and when I'm tired, I tend to say things I wish and want to regret later."

"It's cool man…sorry that I invaded your personal life," Elmer huffed about on the cot as he tried to get comfortable with the excess weight he had on him.

"It's alright…Night Elmer," Zack tiredly yawned as he rolled over on his side, trying to close his eyes and mind off to the world, but Elmer's question was still on his mind, _Of course I know it works…or at least I think it does…_

_Dear Cloud,_

_Hey, it's me…Tifa. I guess we left off on bad terms before you left to try and join SOLDIER…about the night at the bar…I just want to say, thanks. I meant to tell you my thanks after you save me from that big old Gorilla, but I guess, you weren't in your right state of mind to hear my slurred thanks. I heard form your from that you got decked pretty hard in the head by his fist and all you got was a shiner from his fist and lost consciousness for a little bit…As far as my Dad goes. I can say this, he hasn't let me touch a drop of alcohol since that night and I've been away at a kind of Finishing School since you left for Midgar. Heh, I guess you weren't the only one leaving for somewhere far off, but…I should be getting to stop off back at home around Christmas time…I hope you can come home for Christmas even if its only 6 months away. _

…_The night at the bar…I'm sorry for feeling you up…I feel so terrible for doing that to you and I only hope you can forgive me for doing that and hopefully…when you come for the Holidays, maybe I can make it up to you? But it's all up to you if you still want to speak to me, if you don't want to ever speak or see me again, I'll fully understand, Cloud…But I do hope we can still be friends. Well, I better make this short and brief…lights are out in a few moments and I'm writing this before curfew, so, I hope to hear from you or at least see you in the near future. _

_Friends Always,_

_Tifa Lockhart_

_P.S. Your Mom sends her love…_

Tifa finished with the letter as she placed it away in a drawer at her desk as she turned off the desk lamp, looking across the way from her bedroom window to the solitary window still lit in the Strife household as a woman sat a table, alone, head in her hands, quietly sobbing. The first night alone without Cloud in the house, sleeping quietly in the next room so that she knew that when she went to sleep, there would be some form of male support there to drive out any intruders that would dare creep into her home during the night; for Teresa, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that the only two men she had ever had in her life were gone. One in a figurative sense and the other, in the reality sense; lying to Cloud that she was off at a Finishing School was hard to write to him, she couldn't very well come out and tell him that she was staying at home to keep an eye on Cloud's mother because she had seen the way she had become the moment Cloud's bus had pulled away. She had become a broken woman the minute the bus had pulled around the corner as she fell to her knees and openly sobbed, her tears mixing with the dirt of the road as the crowd started for their own homes. Leaving her to grieve the loss of a son to the dogs of ShinRa so that he could become just like the dogs of ShinRa; cold, heartless, and devoid of emotion or compassion for any human life or lives they took under the orders of some commanding officer who was just as desensitized as the rest of the brainless bastards at ShinRa.

Crawling into a bottle seemed like a nice idea, but, "…No, no…I can't just do that…it would kill Cloud if he found out…" she pushed the bottle away, more like threw the bottle of hard liquor at the wall, "…Oh great Goddess or Gaia…please…send me a distraction or something to keep away the temptations of this Planet so as to not give my son reason to be disgraced of me…Please…Or I shall surely go mad…"

"Ms. Strife?" a soft knock came to the door of her home as she softly moved away from the table, but cautiously as she peeked the door open a little, "…Are you Ms. Strife?"

Teresa eyed the stranger with great curiosity; he reminded her of someone she once knew at one time, but washed away as the man's face became clear, "Y-Yes, I'm Ms. Strife…may I help you?"

"Teresa…Is that really you?" the voice became familiar as the man tried to force the door open further, "I…It's me…Nathaniel…Nathaniel Strife…More like…"

"You…" her mouth dropped open with shock and awe, taken back by the fierce reality shock that had been kicked into her seat as her eyes softly focused on him, "You…You…You…"

"…I'm home…to reclaim the woman who would be my wife…"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own and will never own any of the characters mentioned in this fanfic, they are property of Square Enix/Soft and Tetsuya Nomura.

AN: XP I know I'm on hiatus from posting anything new to my profile, but I feel I owe to you guys that when I do get a stroke of inspiration to work on a fanfic amidst working on finding work to post up the chapter I've managed to write up...and after seeing the fanfics I've got in progress...For those waiting on "Dear Journal" to update after an almost year and 2 months hiatus ^^ I apologize in advance...once I've found work and have a little free time that once I'm working and come home from work at that time, I'll try and get back on working on it again to update and finish it off you the readers who are reading it ^^; Either way, let's just say, this chapter kind of brings in someone no one saw coming back into Cloud's Mother's life...little does Cloud know, his old man is back in the picture...Either way. Read and enjoy. This is also up on my DeviantART account that is supplied on my Profile Bio

Chapter 5

What should've been a joyful reunion between a long ago, assumed dead, husband turned into a war of words as Teresa's fist meet the man's face, sending the man to reel back; holding his nose as tears started to spring to his eyes. In one way or another, he had deserved that, but what he felt he hadn't deserved was the obscenities that were spewing from his long missed wife's mouth. Teresa would curse the man out if she wished; why shouldn't she? She had to live everyday with unrelenting knowledge that he wasn't coming back and the man's way of punishing her for not returning or planning to return was through the eyes of her son. Cloud was the spitting image of his Father even if the boy had never met his Father; it killed her slowly on the inside to see the simplest mannerism the boy portrayed remind her deeply of her lost husband.

Now…she had to face the man, face to face in the flesh.

"You son of a bitch. You _**son of a bitch**_**!**" her fists began to connect with the semi standing man's form as a choking sob fought through her throat; his arms slowly started to wrap around her as he listened to her repeat the same line over and over, "Why…Why did you do that to me? Why did you leave _us_?"

Nathanial embraced Teresa gently, running his hands up and down her back in a gentle, calming manner, "I couldn't let you both fall into harm…ShinRa isn't the kind of people you can trust…Especially with what I found out."

Teresa instantly froze up as she fought to get out of the man's grip, "W-What…What do you mean what you found out? Because Cloud went to…"

"Where is that son of mine?" Nathanial seemed to beam as he looked to the doorway and walked in, looking around through the rooms hoping to find the bob of blond hair that resembled his, "Teresa…where is my son?"

"…That's what I was going to tell you…He left for ShinRa's SOLDIER Cadet Program not too long ago…it's a three day travel to Midgar…He went to go out more about you. I'm sorry Nathanial…"Teresa hung her head with shame as she waited for Nathanial to turn on her and punish her for being a stupid Mother and not stopping their son from leaving to pursue something so stupid, "Nathanial, please say something."

The man was incapable of making intelligible words as he began to babble to himself while pacing the room before stopping just short of his long ago wife, "…I'll be praying he becomes a SOLDIER like his old man…he's got the Strife blood in him," he could only hide behind a false smile of hope; oh the horrible things he was going to suffer for in eternity when he died off from this world and went to the Lifestream for the lies he was telling his worried spouse.

"Come on…it's late, I'm sure you're tired with worry over him and I had a long journey to find my way here; it seems that the paths here haven't changed but the area sure has, we'll talk more about it in the morning," Nathanial guided her along as his eyes turned towards an old photograph of his son with his wife, _Be safe, Cloud…ShinRa is a dark and dangerous place now; you've fallen into its steps too soon, sooner then I hadn't hoped for…be safe, son._

~XXX~

Morning always comes with a harsh and rude awakening; especially when it was a five a.m. wake up call from a brash and loud Bunk Leader banging through the Dorms while their cronies crowed through the rooms, waking the sleeping new Cadets from their sound sleep. Thankfully for Zack, he had learned to avoid such brash actions and had woken up a few moments earlier then the wake up call and was standing at the ready at the pick up point for the students to stand at the ready for instruction. Thank the Gods he had managed to keep that well learned lesson crammed away in his youthful little mind after the hundred times he had had the rude awakening from his Father. One time of having your bed being set on the far edge of the village pond, then having a panicking Chocobo knock it and you into the pond. That was the _last _time that Zack was ever late to get up and out of bed to school when he was told the first half a dozen times; unfortunately, it seemed his bunkmates had not had the same upbringing as he heard the sounds of scrambling feet scrambling for the line with Bunk Leaders barking after them. He could only chuckle to himself till the main Leader snapped into the air and the students stood at attention.

_This is going to be an interesting experience…_

"Alright you little brats, you're Mommies aren't here to care for you when you fall down or fail in your classes; you're men now, so you better start acting like such…from here on out, its going to be rough. Some of you may fail while others will succeed," the Leader started on as he watched the curious and nervous faces watching him.

"To lighten the mood, I want you guys to do something for me; look to your left, and then your right, and here's what I want you guys to remember as you do this; someone on your right or left may not be here at the end of this Program. Recognize these faces, because it may be the last time you see them."

An inaudible silence and gulping of throats could be heard down the line but Zack fixed his gaze forward as he watched the Leader give the signal for them to do what the man had asked them do. Some were willing to do as the man had asked while others were scared to the point that they probably would've wet their pants if they weren't so afraid of the Leader jumping on them for peeing their pants when they were suppose to be men. Slowly, the line started to move about as more heads looked up and down the row from left to right; it was a psychological psych up. Memorize the face of your competition so that they will be nothing more then a blur when you are moving up the chain of command to the highest rank.

Either Turk or 1st Class SOLDIER.

"Alright, if you ladies are finished getting to know your fellow man, over on the roster board over there for where you're going for the day; in your first classes of the day you shall be getting your roster of other courses for the rest of this semester. Depending on how well you do at Finals, it will determine a bump or decrease in Rank, the higher your Rank, the more privileges you will gain," the Leader seemed to grin like a Cheshire cat as he saw the happy chatter going on among the young man as he saw them lining up to be dismissed, "I imagine you have all figured out your first class?"

A chorus of "Yes' "came from the youths as they waited for their next orders, "Alright then, off to your class for the day to find out what else you're off to do for the rest of this Semester and may I suggest that if you find that someone here is in a class with you, I would suggest you possibly pair up with that person so that you both may do well in your classes."

"Sir, yes sir!"

~XXX~

Cloud woke up with a slight sneeze as he stirred about in his bed, seeing that some of the others were still in bed; why was it that they were still in bed? Weren't they were suppose to be out to the Line for assignments? And why was it he had just sneezed? Oh well, someone must've been talking about him and as if the Gods knew what Cloud had been thinking, a rude awakening burst into the Dorm.

"Morning ladies! Time to get up and get yourselves to the Line for assignments and you better get there soon before my Commander has to come down here and roust you boys! He'd rather not have to be bothered with coming down and doing this because he's got others he could be doing, but he's doing it as a personal favor to the President," the Dorm Leader shouted at the stirring boys, "And I suggest you not be late. General Sephiroth himself is the man that is greeting you boys this morning. Aren't you guys something special?"

Not another word had to be spoken and not another order to get up and to the Line was needed; just hearing that the great General himself was going to be standing, admiring them and giving them a pep Talk before Assignments assigning. It was like any other Cadet's personal dream to get to see the man in action and there were a few that probably would've shot in their pants at the mere mention of the silver haired God's name. Cloud seemed eager to get out to the Line since he had idolized the man since he had been in Niblehiem and planned out to go through with this plan to join up to hopefully find out more about his Father. Now, he was going to get a chance to see the man face to face. Maybe if he was lucky; he could get on the General's good side enough to be able to find reason to talk to the man in hopes he would know his Father.

His morning would've seemed perfect had it not been for the fact that his long hated childhood bully, Daniel was in the same Dorm as him and the smug look on the teen's face seemed to tell Cloud that he was best to give up all hopes of ever getting to speak to the General now. Daniel had a way of smooth talking his way into people's front pockets; he was charismatic like that and it was the reason why his girlfriend, now fiancée was in his hip pocket. There was no way that the General would ever be able to avoid the charismatic charm and wit of Daniel.

"Are you coming, airy creampuff?" Daniel smirked as he headed out the door, attempting to slam it in Cloud's face, "Don't want a black mark on your record before you even start!"


End file.
